1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device securing unit and a display system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a display device securing unit and a display system, which can provide a multi-television system which can flexibly change a display structure.
The present invention also relates to a display device and method, a recording medium, and a program. More particularly, the present invention also relates to a display device and method, a recording medium, and a program, which can facilitate determination of another display device in a multi-television system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multi-television system having a plurality of displays (televisions) disposed horizontally or vertically is available. This multi-television system is used, for example, when watching and listening to different channels at the same time or watching at the same time images which have been picked up at different predetermined intervals and then which have been arranged in a time series.
The applicant has previously proposed a scalable multi-television system as a multi-television system (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-195843). The scalable multi-television system makes it possible to change the number of displays disposed in rows and columns.
FIG. 1 shows a multi-television system 1 in which, for example, a total of nine displays (televisions) are disposed in three rows and three columns.
The related multi-television system 1 is secured to a housing 4 so that nine displays 2a to 2i face the same side. Therefore, although the number of displays used to form the multi-television system 1 can be arbitrarily determined at the stage of designing the multi-television system 1, the number of displays cannot be changed after manufacturing the multi-television system 1.
In addition, since, in the multi-television system 1, the nine displays 2a to 2i face the same side, when, for example, the multi-television system 1 is installed so that a user 3a in a living room can watch and listen to the displays 2a and 2i as shown in FIG. 1, a user 3b in a dining room situated opposite to the living room with the multi-television system 1 in between cannot watch and listen to the displays 2a to 2i of the multi-television system 1.
FIG. 2 shows a multi-television system in which a total of 16 televisions are disposed in four rows and four columns.
The multi-television system shown in FIG. 2 includes 16 televisions 20211, 20212, 20213, 20214, 20221, 20222, 20223, 20224, 20231, 20232, 20233, 20234, 20241, 20242, 20243, and 20244. Here, the suffix ij in television 202ij indicates an ith row and a jth column (ith row from the top and jth column from the left) in the multi-television system. When the televisions 202ij do not need to be particularly distinguished, they will be referred to as the “televisions 202.”
For example, in the multi-television system, when one image is displayed by all of the televisions 202 that are connected together, an image that each television 202 displays is changed depending upon where the televisions 202 are disposed in the entire multi-television system. To achieve this, the following method may be used. In this method, a predetermined one of the 16 televisions 202 of the multi-television system is made to serve as a controlling device for controlling the entire multi-television system (16 televisions 202), and this television 202 serving as the controlling device provides information regarding the locations of the televisions 202 in the entire multi-television system to the other televisions 202 serving as non-controlling devices.
Here, the following method for connecting wires (signal wires) which connect the 16 televisions 202ij (i=1 to 4 and j=1 to 4) together may be used. In this method, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom leftmost television 20241, serving as the controlling device among the 16 televisions 202, is connected to the remaining televisions 202.
In other words, in FIG. 3, the television 20211 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21111, the television 20221 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21121, and the television 20231 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21131. In addition, the television 20212 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21112, the television 20222 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21122, the television 20232 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21132, and the television 20242 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21142.
Further, the television 20213 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21113, the television 20223 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21123, the television 20233 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21133, and the television 20243 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21143.
Similarly, the television 20214 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21114, the television 20224 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21124, the television 20234 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21134, and the television 20244 and the television 20241 are connected to each other by a cable 21144.
In the connecting method shown in FIG. 3, connectors and the wires, used for connecting the non-controlling televisions 202 to the controlling television 202, are concentrated at a particular location. This makes it difficult to mount a large number of connectors to the controlling television 202, thereby limiting the number of non-controlling televisions 202 that can be connected to the controlling television, that is, limiting the number of televisions 202 used to form the multi-television system.